DS2 Characters
Strowen, Morrel & Griant: A trio of retired Fire Keepers who live in seclusion in Things Betwixt. They greet the newly arrived Undead who come to Drangleic, who steadily stream in on a daily basis. There was once a fourth who resided with them, but she apparently left them for the outside world to instigate more Undead to journey to Drangleic. They don't hesitate to inform you of exactly how miserable your time in Drangleic will be. They give a sort-of orientation to new arrivals, though it mainly boils down to "You suck and your (un)life will be a failure." If the player talks to Strowen after acquiring a story related ring, she'll be amused that the player is still moving forward and will give them 5 Human Effigies. ---- *Milibeth: The caregiver of the Fire Keepers, as many of her maternal ancestors have done before her. She doesn't take kindly to you hitting the retired Fire Keepers even once, as she'll brandish a ladle to attack you relentlessly. ---- *Maughlin the Armourer: An entrepreneur from Volgen who traveled to Drangleic to open a commercial armory. Unfortunately, he's hit a red streak and is hurting for business. Along with Rosabeth, he's one of the few dark-skinned human characters in the game. He also sells the armor sets of some of the humanoid bosses you have defeated so far. Including the armor set of the Ivory King. How he got ahold of them in the first place, however, is a mystery in of itself. Even when he becomes blinded by his newfound wealth, he's still considerate enough to offer the player a free set of the fairly solid, or rather transparent, Aurous Set should they come to him with no souls on hand. Aggroing him will cause Maughlin to take out his Falchion to defend himself against you, and he's surprisingly good at using it to deadly effect, especially when you're still at a low level and are careless at fighting him. ---- *Blacksmith Lenigrast: A somewhat grumpy Undead blacksmith who believes firmly in the value of physical labor. When first encountered, he's been locked out of the building where he set up shop, and will offer his services if the player retrieves his key. He has a daughter, Chloanne, who works as a travelling stone trader. He serves as the town blacksmith, performing basic equipment upgrades as well as repairing broken equipment. He bears an uncanny resemblance to the figure on the Archstone of the Burrow Kingfrom Demon's Souls, being a bearded, green-skinned blacksmith. The Ugly Dad to Chloanne's Hot Daughter, but not by choice, as the Undead Curse has afflicted his skin and he has not bothered to use a Human Effigy. ---- *Benhart of Jugo: A mysterious swordsman found outside of Majula's entrance to the Shaded Woods, stopped in his tracks by a strange, human-like statue. He wears a secondhand suit of armor, which he seems to have procured in Mirrah. The sword he wields seems both familiar and foreign at the same time. The Bluemoon Greatsword, which he and his ancestors believe to be the real Moonlight Greatsword created from the tail of Seath the Scaleless which the Chosen Undead cut off so many years ago. Magerold says he suspects it might be a fake, but couldn't bring himself to tell Benhart because of how proud he is of the sword. Speak to Maughlin with the sword in your inventory and he will confirm it is indeed a fake. He's got a gray beard. He kicks a metric ton of ass with average armor and the powerless forgery of a legendary blade. And since he doesn't display any signs of memory loss, judging by the way he goes on and on about his family's history with his sword, he may not even be Undead. You can learn the "Joy" gesture from him after listening to him talk about his love of swordsmanship. He also makes it clear that he's in Drangleic solely to put his sword to good use; the devastated kingdom where everything has gone to hell is his ideal of a training ground. Subverted. While he is an honorable Jugoian, in contrast to the other people hailing from Jugo, this is likely due to being from an era long past. It's all thanks to the Timey-Wimey Ball of the region. Benhart claims his homeland, Jugo, is one of honorable fighting men. Technically this is true due to the tale of Aurous, but only in the past tense. By the events of the game, most of the equipment and characters (such as the Desert Sorceresses and Corrosive Urns) from Jugo are underhanded and completely dishonorable. It's unknown as to how old he is, but his beard is solid gray, and he's one of the most powerful NPC summons you will meet in your travels. ---- *Carhillion of the Fold: A former professor at the Melfia Magic Academy who traveled to Drangleic with his apprentice Rosabeth. Drangleic is said to be home to ancient spells and lost arts, and many dangers to test them on. What better place is there for an ambitious mage to test his limits? He's revealed to be a powerful hexer in the Lost Crowns Trilogy if you take the time to summon him against the Fume Knight, where he can unleash Dark Greatsword and Dark Hail on top of his signature sorceries. While he won't pay much attention to you if you don't have the required Intelligence to buy his spells, he will take you as a pupil once you do, and gives some helpful advice when you talk to him. He left the Melfia Magic Academy due to his disgust of their internal politics and shortsighted administration. As skilled as Carhillion is - considering that he has attuned Soul Spear, Crystal Soul Spear, Great Soul Arrow, Homing Soul Arrow and Heavy Homing Soul Arrow for when he fights - he's grossly outmatched physically by the Fume Knight's immense strength and needs you as a distraction to properly act as support. ---- *Rosabeth of Melfia: A pyromancer found petrified at the entrance of the Shaded Woods. She is the apprentice of Carhillion, despite her ineptitude with sorcery. She's one of the few characters that has dark skin, and even in the artworks she's one of the few characters that contrasts with... well, everyone else's pallor. She's constantly nervous, easily distracted and started off her quest in Drangleic by getting jumped and petrified by a basilisk. But she did pretty well for herself after getting separated from Carhillion, and her unusually coherent memory implies that she might be the only non-Undead resident of Majula. Rosabeth has a great passion for learning sorcery, but absolutely sucks at it. Also an inversion; she is very adept at pyromancy, but couldn't care less about it. She's one of friendliest and most polite characters in the game, and gifts you a Prism Stone as thanks for unpetrifying her. She is the pyromancy teacher of the game. And should you go and aggro her, she will whip out a pyromancy glove and cast the Fireball, Great Fireball and Great Combustion pyromancies at you. She obviously had a bad experience with a basilisk, most likely the one that's waiting directly on the other side of the door next to her. ---- *Merchant Hag Melentia: A wandering hag who makes her living selling wares. A creepier example than most merchants you find. If you kill a NPC, chances are she will sell their clothes once you talk to her. How she managed to obtain them is another question... She's rather decrepit (probably from being partially Hollowed), scavenges from the dead, and cackles wickedly in the face of someone dying (including herself). Having no place to live after the war, she wanders Drangleic, carrying all of her wares and possessions on her back. ---- *Licia of Lindeldt: A somewhat shady priestess who serves as the game's miracle trainer. In addition to selling miracles... Licia also invades people wandering the lower levels of Drangleic Castle and in the Undead Crypt as the Nameless Usurper. The device she uses to open the path to the Huntsman's Copse, according to her, runs "only on miracles". But if you kill her and take it from her corpse, however, it runs just fine without a single miracle in your inventory. Since Licia mostly relies on her miracles when aggroed, she will rarely resort to using her bare fists should you get too close to her. She will never let up an occasion to tell you why you should submit yourself to learning miracles from her. She even asks you to pay a fee and kneel before her just to unlock the entrance to Huntsman's Copse for you! Her skills and her goods are legit, but her salesmanship is as cutthroat as they come. It's also implied that all of her miracles and equipment were actually stolen from a monastery in Lindeldt, going by the items and the miracle that you can recover after counter-invading her. She's the most dishonest person in Majula, and it's pretty clear that her proselytizing is really just a front to get souls out of you. And then she attacks you numerous times to steal them for herself. ---- *Cale the Cartographer: A forgetful old man who's fascinated by an engraved map of Drangleic deep in a mansion in Majula. Too bad he seems to be suffering from Death of Personality. This man is approaching Solaire-levels of benevolence. Apparently Cale somehow entered and explored Aldia's Keep at one point, met and managed to touch Navlaan through the barrier and then left the place with his life still intact. ---- *Stone Trader Chloanne: The daughter of Blacksmith Lenigrast. She deals in rare ores, specifically Titanite. While the Undead Curse is partially to blame, judging from Lenigrast's dialogue, she was never the shiniest stone in the pile - though this could be down to his general attitude. Perpetually barefoot and a lover (and seller) of stones and ores. Chloanne is usually holding a human skull or bone, and is studying it rather lovingly. Lenigrast reminds her of her father. He is her father, but she doesn't recognize him due to his partially Hollowed state, and also doesn't believe that her father could ever manage to chase her down this far away from home, so she dismisses the notion that it could actually be him. ---- *Laddersmith Gilligan: A vulgar carpenter from Volgen who helps construct shortcuts in the form of ladders, for the appropriate fee. Quite portly, but otherwise very friendly and casual to the Player Character. He wields a pair of Melu Scimitars, which have jeweled hilts. You come across his motionless body in Dark Souls III. Additionally, you learn the "Stretch-out" gesture by interacting with his corpse, which is exactly positioned like said gesture. He came to Drangleic to get away from some "old friends" of his, and laughs off any attempts to get more details from him. By Dark Souls III, it appears those "old friends" of his finally found him. An odd example in that he was never possessed or otherwise had his personality overridden, and his body in the Profaned Capital is surrounded by ladders (destroyed and set-up alike). It seems that Gilligan died doing what he loved or, more likely, succumbed to a single-minded mania as he slowly Hollowed out. In exchange for building and setting up ladders to help you progress on your journey easier, Gilligan asks for your souls in return, and it's implied this flaw of his has caused him a lot of problems with his "old friends". He's implied to be a criminal who's made a lot of enemies, but can otherwise be pretty chummy. According to Navlaan, he is indeed a greedy, foul man, and Gilligan more than proves him right by asking for souls in exchange for making ladders for your use, hence why the former will ask you to assassinate Gilligan and bring back his Ladder Miniature as proof of his death. ---- *Blue Sentinel Targray: An apostle of the Blue Sentinels covenant based in the Cathedral of Blue in Heide, Targray remained in Drangleic to continue supporting his comrades even after people began fleeing the ruined kingdom and he himself became Undead. The Blue Sentinels have a sacred and heroic mission, so it is not unsurprising that even the altruistic Targray has let the honor get to his head a bit. Heavily implied that the frightened child, the protagonist of the fable told in his shields description, is in fact him, and that the intervention of the Goddess of Dreams was what inspired him to found the blue sentinels. Should you attack him, he will refer to you as his greatest challenge. Reject his offer to join the Blue Sentinels, and he will call you a halfwit for rejecting "such magnificence." Despite the kingdom of Heide having been subsumed by the sea and many of his compatriots gone, he still remains there to help those whom he has sworn to protect. Downplayed. According to the official guide, Targray is absolutely selfless and altruistic, more than willing to lay his life down to save others at a drop of a hat. The downplayed part is that he is kind of pompous about it. ---- *Lucatiel of Mirrah: A knightess from the land of Mirrah, Lucatiel came to Drangleic to seek a cure for her curse of Undeath and search for her older brother, Aslatiel. She's basically a female Solaire. A tragic version. Early on, Lucatiel gives the player character a Human Effigy, not knowing what it is. Her own memories begin fading not long after. Subverted. Lucatiel's brother Aslatiel was always the better swordsman. However, depending on player choices, Lucatiel not only contributes to killing two Old Ones, but also can keep her sanity, while her brother becomes reduced to a mad Red Phantom. It's implied that she goes hollow in the end, but at the same time thanks you for keeping her sanity and doesn't come after you later, like most other NPCs-turned-enemies. In the Black Gulch, she speculates that the Curse is possibly one that everyone is born with. According to a certain Primordial Serpent in the previous game, she's more correct than she'll ever know. Whether it was her fear of the curse or a general hatred of the undead, her sword Hollowslayer is especially effective against other undead, whom she certainly fought as she traveled Drangleic anyway. ---- *Straid of Olaphis: A powerful sorcerer from the ancient land of Olaphis, left petrified in the Lost Bastille until the player sets him free. He defines this trope, having invented several of the most powerful spells in the game. Olaphis wanted him to come to their Kingdom for his profound wisdom and magical ability. He did so. Then it turned out that he was even wiser and more magically powerful than they'd thought. They weren't too happy about that. He's extremely knowledgeable, but also rather full of himself - and, whether the player purchases from him or not, he'll deride them as a "feeble cursed one" and insinuate that they don't have what it takes to manage his spells. With emphasis on the Jerk part. He's an Insufferable Genius through and through who'll never let an occasion to insult the player's skill and intelligence slip past him, but he'll still give them his armor set if you trade enough boss souls with him. He'll also be thankful when the players unpetrifies him, so he's also not an Ungrateful Bastard. Can go from calm and friendly to a condescending asshole with the flick of a switch. It's quite jarring the first time it happens. He has a lot of knowledge about the history of the Bastille and previous kingdoms, and of the origins of pyromancy. He spent several lifetimes as a statue before being freed. He's remarkably calm after learning of this. He was petrified by something and left in the Bastille for ages. ---- *Steady Hand McDuff: A reclusive and disturbingly passionate old blacksmith who runs his forge in the heart of the Lost Bastille. He knows how to manipulate Embers. He's the only one who can perform weapon infusion, augmenting weapons with altered titanite.' Aside from when you bring him the Dull Ember, there's very little indication that he's talking to someone and not himself. The first things he says to you in your first meeting are almost complete nonsense. Despite his antisocial disposition and supposed obsession with fire, McDuff nearly has the fundamental truths of the world within his grasp due to his long smithing career. Implied. The description of the Dull Ember mentions that the art of Infusing has all but died and the Embers of old are burnt out and lifeless. His ability to infuse weapons, therefore, would have to be a power he had all along. Also implies that he is Ambiguously Human, but that's typical of the series. On the other hand, he seems to really like fire. When you first meet him, he'll be in a mostly unlit room with an unlit torch on the other side. If you light it then come back later, he'll have moved his anvil next to the torch to be nearer to it. ---- *Manscorpion Tark: Ex-husband of Scorpioness Najka, Tark has managed to retain his sanity, and can be communicated with if the player possesses the Ring of Whispers, whereupon he is available as a summon for her battle. He can be summoned for the fight against his wife, provided you spoke with him beforehand. Tark's scorpion body is much smaller than Najka's (while his human torso is the same size, if not slightly larger), he has only a single, much smaller tail, and much larger pincers. Najka also has sickly pale-white skin on her human half, while Tark's is a more natural flesh-tone. While he does not hold to any god, he will offer prayers for your safety. He's very friendly and amiable towards the player, and will gladly help them during the boss fight with Najka. He'll also give you useful items after you defeat two bosses in particular. Much like his wife, although his scorpion body is smaller (albeit with larger pincers) and lacks a second stinger tail. He pities his creator's (implied to be Seath the Scaleless) descent into madness. According to Tark, his creator did not understand what it was he truly lacked. He guesses that since he can speak the tongue of men, he must have been a human in the past, though all he can remember is his name. ---- *Head of Vengarl: The decapitated head of the warrior Vengarl of Forossa, presumably kept alive despite his separation from his body by virtue of being Undead. Vengarl was reputed for being a mad beast on the battlefield. He's calmed down a lot by now, however, and now considers himself a fool for his previous bloodlust. His body, on the other hand, is still full of rage and bloodlust. He's a head laying around in a pile of rubble. He seems pretty okay with that, and the only thing that really upsets him is that his body is still wreaking havoc elsewhere. His Blood Knight reputation got to the point where his fellow Forossa Lion Knights, themselves a bunch of rabid fighters, kept him at arm's length. Undead almost always go Hollow over time, especially if they have no driving purpose to occupy them or souls to drive back the curse. Vengarl has been a decapitated head in the middle of a pile of masonry for a great length of time, and is one of the most thoughtful and composed characters in the game. You find his head well and alive in the Shaded Woods, still able to speak because he's an Undead. How he can talk without lungs, though... ---- *Darkdiver Grandahl: A mysterious old man in a dark crimson robe. He is encountered in several out-of-the-way places throughout Drangleic. He will initially offer only vague musing and cryptic remarks, but after crossing paths with him three times he will reveal that he is the leader of a group of pioneers dedicated to exploring the fragmented remains of the legendary Abyss. While Grandahl's wheelchair and his aged, wizardly appearance lend him an air of frailty, his ability to open dimensional gates to the Dark Chasm and seemingly teleport from place to place indicate that there is far more to him that meets the eye. Grandahl is the only character in the series so far who knows (or at least claims to know) the origin of life, or expresses it to the player. He says after you gain the second rank in the Pilgrims of Dark that "dark is the mother of all" and all things were born of it, which is very close to what the opening cinematic of Dark Souls says. He's agonizingly polite and pleasant towards the player character, encouraging you in your pilgrimage without fail. In a manner similar to Gavlan, Grandahl can be first met in the Shaded Woods, later in Black Gulch, and finally in Drangleic Castle. How he does this in a wheelchair, however, well... magic. A long, Merlin-esque beard that fits well with his mysterious and occult disposition. P2 *Lonesome Gavlan: The chief of the Gyrm, a stout race driven underground because humans perceived them as an inferior race. Unlike his clansmen, who still harbor a strong hatred for humans, Gavlan cheerfully deals with them.Much like the rest of his clansmen, Gavlan is outfitted with a rough beard that predominates anything that's not covered by his helmet. Speaks in a primitive tongue. ---- *Felkin the Outcast: A man blessed with a natural talent in Sorcery. However, both sorcery and pyromancy bored him, while hexes piqued his interest. Is a rather strong pyromancer despite his seemingly singled minded devotion to dark. Looks down on sorcery and pyromancy, will only use pyromancies when aggroed. He seems to have quite the stutter. Whether this is natural or something that started due to the Dark is unknown. ---- *Creighton the Wanderer: A knight from Mirrah who wanders Drangleic hunting for Pate, who he feels has slighted him. Talking to Cale, however, paints a very different picture: Creighton is a "knight" in name only. The man is really an infamous murderer, who escaped to Drangleic shortly before his execution. He is available as a summon for the Skeleton Lords boss fight in the Huntsman's Copse in the Scholar of the First Sin edition. He reappears in Dark Souls III as an invader during a sidequest. His equipment reaffirms his position as a knight of Mirrah, but paints him as an infamous deserter in addition to a murderer. Is genuinely grateful towards the player, once they free him from his cell in Huntsman's Copse. In II. While he is a confirmed deserter and murderer, he still comes off as lighter than Pate. This is due to never harming the player, even actively helping him, as long as the player sides with him against Pate. Dark Souls III reveals that he canonically comes out of his feud with Pate alive. This is possibly a case of Gameplay and Story Integration as their fight is easy to miss, meaning the two would be left to fight alone. Without player intervention, Creighton typically wins this fight nine times out of ten unless his AI is having a particularly bad day. ---- *Titchy Gren: A follower of Nahr Alma, the God of Blood. He leads the Brotherhood of Blood, a Covenant whose members tout themselves as servants who offer blood to the gods; however in reality they are merely lovers of violence seeking to recruit those with similar personalities. Gren makes no pretenses about his Covenant's objectives and in fact advertises them with sadistic pride: they live to slaughter the innocent in droves until blood runs in rivers across the land and view their enemies, the Blue Sentinels, merely as another opportunity to sow carnage and death. He's the leader to a covenant of them. The very first speech he gives you also reeks of tempting you to give in to your bloodlust. Even though he's relatively clean in appearance, his clothing is caked in the dried blood of everyone he has killed. It's unknown if he's an actual dwarf or merely short in stature, but he's a demented fellow all the same. He's impeccably civil, even while he gleefully talks about the violence he can't wait to see you commit. His scythe of Nahr Alma. He has a very silky voice and an intense thirst for blood. ---- *The Rat King: Looking seemingly identical to the other hostile rats, the Rat King is the only known entity of its kind to communicate by speech. Regardless of the number of rats killed, upon conquering the area, the Rat King offers the player a chance to join the Rat King Covenant and serve it. He's surprisingly respectful of you once you join his covenant. Specially so if you deepen your bond with it. He has a deep distrust and dislike of humans, although he makes an exception for the player if they choose to serve him. He'll also start to warm up to the idea of rats and humans living peacefully together if the player gets a high enough rank in his Covenant. The only known rat to communicate in human tongue. He is quite ragged and somewhat frightening in appearance, yet he speaks Flowery Elizabethan English in a very smooth, dignified voice. He'll grant anyone who's conquered his burrows and slain his most powerful servants an offer to serve him in their stead. ---- *Magerold of Lanafir: A merchant selling his belongings and wares in the Iron Keep, Magerold of Lanafir will offer the player a chance to join the Dragon Remnants Covenant, provided the Undead Hero presents a specific item to him. He doesn't care how much something is worth, just as long as it's fascinating. The Petrified Dragon Egg is one such item he'll be glad to have. He's among the friendliest merchants in the game, even restraining himself of telling Benhart that his Bluemoon Greatsword is a fake after seeing the latter's pride in said "legendary" weapon. Given that he's the sole source for the Jester's Set, there's a popular fan theory that Magerold moonlights as Jester Thomas. He's a cheery and quirky merchant who won't mind if you neglect to purchase anything from him, much like Domnhall of Zena. The Lost Crown Trilogy also allows him to sell a few boss armours once you defeat them. ---- *Weaponsmith Ornifex: A crow demon not unlike the ones commonly seen in the Painted World of Ariamis from Dark Souls, Weaponsmith Ornifex is initially found locked in a room in the Shaded Woods, but upon being set free, will offer the player boss soul weapons in exchange for certain boss souls. She's so grateful for being rescued that she offers the player her services as a blacksmith, and even allows them to have one weapon for free the first time they offer her a boss soul. She may look somewhat intimidating, being of the race of a former enemy type, but she couldn't be friendlier. Orni- is the Greek root for "bird" and fex is the Latin root for "feces" ---- *Cromwell the Pardoner: Located atop of the Chapel, Cromwell the Pardoner allows the player to repent of their sins in exchange for souls. Comes with the territory, being a Pardoner of Velka. Some poor souls found out the hard way, as evidenced by the number of slain corpses littering the room he is in. He is unusually calm given where he's chosen to set up shop. What with a Prowling Magus defiling the church beneath him and spiders having overrun and possessed the populace and so on. His general impression of those he pardons. ---- *Chancellor Wellager: The former Chancellor of Drangleic, Wellager still resides in Drangleic Castle even after his death. The fact that he is a ghost rather than any form of living human or an undead hollow raises more questions than answers. In addition to selling ornate items made of Drangleic-made geisteel, Wellager has an uncannily large array of weapons that are implied to be salvaged from the late Old Iron King's possessions. He's a ghost by the time you meet him. He bounces between welcoming you to Castle Drangleic almost autonomously and wondering what has happened to the kingdom. Even after death, Wellager is nothing if cordial and hospitable towards you. ---- *Milfanito: Songstresses given eternal life by the Great Dead One (aka Nito of Dark Souls) to soothe the souls of those bound by death and Dark, and to keep the Demon of Song sealed away. They are linked by a sort of hive mind, and possess a rudimentary sense of self; this trait combined with their purity, innocence, and naiveté has resulted in several of their number either wandering into the territory of the Demon of Song or being kidnapped and carried off by outsiders with ill intentions. You can carve them up if you like. They'll just sit there and This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.fearfully ask what you intend to do with them as they die. We're not entirely sure what happens to the Milfanito imprisoned in the tower of Drangleic Castle after you free her- she whimpers a few times then Disappears into Light, leaving the Ring of the Dead behind, but if you talk to her two remaining sisters in the Shrine they thank you for saving her. Whether she's still alive somehow or whether they were just thanking you for saving her from a Fate Worse than Death for them is unknown. Hive Mind, It's indicated they have this. Their naive, youthful, literally glowing appearance makes them almost seem angelic. "Milfanito", which plays throughout the Shrine of Amana, and stops when you approach them for a talk. However, the theme is reprised even without any Milfanito around (especially the one that crumbles to dust), an indication that the Demon of Song is mimicking their singing to lure you in; however, you also hear singing when you rescue the Milfanito in Drangleic Castle, which requires the Demon of Song to be dead. Their song quite closely mirrors the Nameless Song, the ending credits music to the first Dark Souls. To say it's hauntingly beautiful, especially to veterans, is an vast understatement; especially when they visit the Shrine of Amana the first time, and they hear those familiar notes sing out, after hearing it what would seem like a lifetime ago, many more lifetimes in-universe. Their song is supposed to bring peace to the undead and keep the Demon of Song sealed away. It also causes brightbugs to dance around the monsters lurking in the water, making them non-aggressive. If they stop singing, watch out. ---- *Grave Warden Agdayne: One of the Fenito, an immortal race who were assigned as the guardians of the Undead Crypt millennia ago. Agdayne is the highest ranked overseer of the grave keepers, and takes his job as seriously now as he did when he was first created. Do not shine a light in his room. Doing so will prompt him and the surrounding Grave Wardens to murder you. As a phantom summon, he uses powerful, homing hexes that the player can never acquire in the game. Remarks that humanity was once at peace in the dark, until the lord of light ushered in the Age of Fire because he feared them. Confirmed and elaborated on in Dark Souls 3 - Gwyn put a brand of fire upon early man to seal their connection to the Dark (implied to have become the darksign), eventually causing all problems associated with the abyss and the dark. As far he's concerned, anything that has to do with the Age of Fire is just a bag of troubles. The Fenito as a whole will attack those who would defile the graves they watch. Agdayne even warns you to put out whatever source of light you have active, else they will attack you. ---- *Royal Sorcerer Navlaan: A former court sorcerer surrounded by conflicting rumors and great controversy. Navlaan is found within Aldia's Keep, held within a magically sealed cell. It's hard to make out unless the player aggros him, but his host's skin tone is light blue. Whether this is due to Navlaan's influence or the host not being human is unconfirmed, but it is the same color as the skin of the Fenito. His "corrupted" side... has a few screws loose, to put it mildly. Navlaan is possessed by a malevolent entity (Flavor Text implies that it is this entity that is called Navlaan, rather than the man hosting him) who only emerges when the player is Hollow. If the player is human, Navlaan's host communicates with them instead, warning them away. For the poor man hosting him. He's little more than a prisoner in his own body, "sharing" it with a bloodthirsty lunatic, and the only way to stop Navlaan's rampages was for him to imprison them both for all eternity. Once released, Navlaan will invade you SIX different times; more than any other NPC invader. According to the description of his spell "Scraps of Life" (which awakens the souls of the long-buried dead in the form of pillars of black flames and emerge from a purple circle), Navlaan practiced the forbidden art of resurrection long before he was executed, and the mere utterance of his name became a crime. He now possesses a sorcerer and the said person calls himself Navlaan since. Of Mephistopheles from Demon's Souls. He sends the player to assassinate specific individuals in Majula; the difference this time is that the player can complete his assassination missions peacefully without killing anyone by simply obtaining a specific item the individual holds. His "corrupted" side has a very quiet, yet slightly gravelly voice, and lusts for bloodshed. ---- *Captain Drummond: The Captain of the Drangleic Army battalion stationed at the fort during the invasion by the Giants. Drangleic Sword. Its description says it's been passed down through many generations of Drummond's family. It's in the name, although you first find him in a rubble, seemingly defeated by the Giants. You take his sword, with a matching set, sans helmet, from a corpse which is probably his. Near the end, you take a trip back in time where you meet him in person. And he gives you his helmet. While the other soldiers you find in the fort all wear a helm, he doesn't, and kicks as much ass as Benhart during the boss fight against the Giant Lord. ---- *Masterless Glencour: A knight whose summon sign is found just outside the Dragonrider's boss room. He is available for fighting against the Dragonrider and the Old Dragonslayer. He reappears in the Crown of the Ivory King as a summon against Aava, the King's Pet. He can also be summoned in Belfry Luna in the Scholar of the First Sin edition, this time as a shade. The archetype of a tank character, Glencour dispatches the Old Knights with little trouble and can parry both the Dragonrider and the Old Dragonslayer, a feat that is not easy to achieve if you've just begun your trek in Heide's Tower of Flame. Against Aava, one of the late-game bosses, however, he's nowhere as useful due to the tiger's massive damage output and health pool. Without the Eye of the Priestess, you will not be able to notice his summon sign in Crown of the Ivory King. Glencour is a knight, but he wanders around seeking challenges instead of someone worthy enough to pledge his allegiance to, hence why he's 'Masterless'. ---- *Jester Thomas: A wandering jester who can be summoned to help you fight Mytha the Baneful Queen in the Earthen Peak. He fights by using high level pyromancies. Although he appears to be a simple jester, his combat prowess, powerful magic, and the heavily enchanted nature of his gear all heavily suggest he may be something more. In the DLC, he will actually use player gestures, and will even mock you when he kills you or interrupts your attempt to heal. He is also by far the most adept at dodging out of any NPC, which he WILL use to devastating effect while he blasts you with pyromancies. He's dressed like any other circus jester, which totally looks out of place in the somber Earthen Peak. And yet he's one of the most potent NPC summons out there, casually steamrolling the boss he's summoned for with overpowered pyromancies. He's also one of the most dangerous invading black phantoms introduced in the Crown of the Sunken King DLC. His combination of fighting only with spells, having unlimited casts, and an incredibly fast casting speed make him terrifying to fight. What looks like a Warmth could be a Great Combustion, what looks like a Great Combustion could be a Great Fireball, and what looks like a Great Fireball could be a Fire Tempest. Zig-zagged. On one hand, he has unlimited spell casts, like other NPCs, which makes him an even bigger threat, since his arsenal includes Forbidden Sun. On the other hand, while his casting speed is ridiculous, it can actually be achieved by the player. However, to do so, you need to have 99 attunement and the +2'd Clear Bluestone Ring. Ha ha, look at the foolish jester in the silly outfit! Look at him running around and prancing about in his outrageous tights and grinning mask! Look at him soloing a snake-woman three times bigger than he is and hurling miniature suns! Black Phantom Jester Thomas uses gestures to taunt his defeated foe after victory. He is COMPLETELY out of place in the gritty, knights-and-dragons world of Drangleic, clad in boldly colored Jester regalia that's easily some of the silliest-looking armour in the game. He also dual wields pyromancy flames and can solo the area boss, and you. No matter how many phantoms you bring. He qualifies as this. Although he looks completely ridiculous at first glance, he's the toughest NPC summon in the game. ---- *Ashen Knight Boyd: A man who fights one-handed with no shield. He wears the Royal Soldier set and wields an Estoc. He can be summoned for the fight against the Duke's Dear Freja, and can also be summoned for the fight against the Looking Glass Knight in the Scholar of the First Sin edition. Boyd is implied to be of the same Drangleic Royal Army detachment as Bowman Guthry, who invades you in the Doors of Pharros. Unlike the latter, he is a friendly summon. His Estoc, which likely makes him a high ranking Drangleic Royal Army officer. While it's quick to dispatch smaller targets like the spider minions, it will hardly make a scratch against the Duke's Dear Freja's hide. Doesn't mean Boyd won't stop trying, though. Boyd has a truly gigantic health pool, enough to tank the entire fight without ever reaching critical status, though his use of an Estoc limits his stopping power against the boss. Main King Vendrick The founder of Drangleic, alongside his elder brother Aldia. Vendrick led a campaign against the Giants, bringing prosperity to his kingdom. However, he felt something was amiss, and ventured off for one last journey. The former King of Drangleic has been reduced to a mindless Hollow, but still clutches something dear. While killing him is not necessary, putting this poor soul to rest could only be considered a final courtesy to the man who used every means within his reach and made unimaginable sacrifices to halt the spread of the Undead curse. A dignified and honorable death in single combat... Vendrick would have wanted it. Is set up as being the one who brought his own kingdom to ruin. The truth however... He apparently went through a lot of effort to prevent his queen Nashandra from taking the Throne of Want. At some point before his final departure, he went to the Shrine of Amana, where the King left his soul behind a sealed door that would only open for un-Hollowed people. Vendrick then left his castle with his best men, while leaving the Looking Glass Knight to guard his escape. They went to the Undead Crypt, a place completely inaccessible except from the castle, and set up patrol routes while cooperating with the Graveguards to some degree. Vendrick went to the very end of the Crypt, leaving his absolute best man to guard him as he succumbed to the Undead Curse. Vendrick did all this to keep his ring safe, and left enough hints for a worthy Undead to follow the trail. He knows that he's too far gone to be able to ascend the Throne of Want by the time you encounter him with the Ashen Mist Heart, but that doesn't stop him from using the last of his strength to gift you with the power to stop Hollowing and commission you to succeed where he couldn't with his Famous Last Words; "Seek Strength. The rest will follow." Anyone who didn't get a renewed sense of drive from these six simple words probably didn't understand their meaning; seek out challenges and trials to improve yourself, for you will overcome them and after you've defeated them the rest of your purpose and destiny will come to you. Scholar of the First Sin more or less reveals this. Despite all of his horrid acts under the dark influence of Nashandra, in the end, Vendrick went out giving valuable advice to the Bearer of the Curse, and gave what was left of his power to cure his/her undeath. It's believed that all the measures and barriers standing between you and the Throne of Want, such as meeting the Ancient Dragon and needing to go inside the Memory of a Giant, were set up by Vendrick solely to make sure that Nashandra would not take the Throne for herself. Long ago, Vendrick and his brother, Lord Aldia, started thinking out ways to best the Undead Curse. While the brothers experimented to find a means to stop it, Aldia's experiments escalated to such extremes that Vendrick had to confine his brother to his estate, sealing the front gate with a massive door tied to Vendrick's ring. "Seek Strength. The rest will follow." These are the last words he says to you before you get shunted out of the Memory of the King and are barred from entering it again; presumably this is finally the point where he Hollowed completely, as he had just gifted you with the treatment for the Curse and thus lost his last purpose to keep him from Hollowing. Not only does it serve as a subtle nod to the series as a whole, but it also shows how he sees you as the true worthy successor to the Throne of Want that he never could be since you have the capacity to grow stronger and overcome the adversities he couldn't. In-Universe. The description of the Shield of Want from Dark Souls III reveals that, since most people in Drangleic had gone hollow or died before Nashandra revealed herself as a Child of Dark, their actions were ascribed to Vendrick instead, and he went down in history as a greed-consumed king who ruined his own land in his lust for power. He admits this is true in his case, even implying he still has feelings for Nashandra despite knowing she's a Humanoid Abomination bent on drowning the world in the Dark. Taking Nashandra's counsel, he invaded the land of the Giants and captured many of them as experiment specimens for the cure of Undead curse. In vengeance, the Giant Lord and his army wrecked Vendrick's land and most of his royal force after decades of war. To add insult to injury, he disappeared at the peak of the war (implied to be due to his Hollowing) and left the people with no leader, until the Bearer of the Curse went back in time and slay the Giant Lord, tipping the scale in Drangleic's favor. He's a giant in the sense that he's similar to the lords of Anor Londo from Dark Souls, being significantly larger than the average human while preserving the same proportions; contrast the race of Giants introduced in this game, who are made of stone and have a hole for a face. He's also the largest Hollow you'll meet. In his prime, Vendrick must have been a being of almost incomprehensible power. Even when naked and half-rotted by the Undead Curse, Vendrick is so tough that, if it weren't for the hatred of the Giant Souls weakening him, your most powerful blows would be lucky to even do double digit damage to him, while his attacks are so mighty they're pretty much guaranteed to kill you in three blows, no matter how tough you are. If you travel back into the past with the Ashen Mist Heart to meet him at full power and wearing his armour you literally cannot harm him at all and your efforts are so puny you don't even annoy him (at worst he's mildly disappointed by your foolishness). Possibly. Capt. Drummold mentions both his Father and Grandfather fought the giants, which means the war Vendrick started has been going on for decades by that point. The old woman says Dranlegic was created long ago, so unless time travel is involved during the opening cutscene, it could mean Vendrick was around for a very long time. And that's before he went hollow. There's no way of knowing how long he's been wandering aimlessly in the undead crypt since he went hollow. Despite knowing that Nashandra is a Child of Dark, he still harbours some compassion for his queen (or "dear Shandra"), calling her "a feeble, tiny thing that thirsted for power more than any other". In his attempts to stave off the Zombie Apocalypse with his brother Aldia, Vendrick ironically turns out to have been afflicted with the curse of the Undead, and he's fully Hollowed by the time you meet him. In his memories, Vendrick laments that he was no king, but a jester. The Emerald Herald A mysterious woman encountered in Majula. She is the last active Fire Keeper left in Drangleic and watches over the Far Fire. She and a number of items imply she was created from the blood of dragons by the mystics of Aldia's Keep. Lures Undead to Drangleic with rumors of a cure for the Undead Curse so that she can find someone capable of destroying Nashandra and claiming the Throne of Want. Has pale skin and brown hair, though it's usually covered by her hood. She's only ever referred to as the Emerald Herald. She does have a name, though. It's Shanalotte, and it was given to her by the dragons. Explicitly stated to be the last Fire Keeper left in Drangleic, though you meet a few former Fire Keepers beforehand. Navlaan suggests that she may not be exactly what people think she is however. Precisely who she is and why she is assisting you is unclear at first. Since she was created to break the curse, she's striving to get you to defeat Nashandra and take over as the new king and Link the Fire. It's eventually revealed that she was born and raised in the Dragon Aerie, and that her ultimate purpose was to break the undead curse. In the Japanese text, when encountered at the Dragon Aerie she states that her "bunshin" has been leading the Chosen Undead... which could explain how she can access sealed-of locations. She was created by the residents of Aldia's Keep in hopes of breaking the cycle caused by the undead curse. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and she ends up simply perpetuating the cycle with your undead instead.